Digital democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand
How can digital tools promote understanding
and build consensus around complex issues?
Can democracy be digital?
While Web 2.0 including early social media were once understood to herald a new participatory age, over the past 10 years these new digital environments had increasingly come to be seen as detrimental to democracy. Yet, as many have argued, the problem is not inherent in the nature of digital environment as such, but in the design of specific social media platforms, shaped by the commercial motivations of the owners. In response to this a flourishing field of innovation in ‘digital democracy’ has developed, with online spaces intentionally designed to support deliberation and finding consensus rather than deepening polarization. Sitting at the intersection of political theory and computer science, this is an exciting area of research and practice that is trying answer the question: How do we make online spaces (in which we spend so much time) enhance, rather than diminish, our democratic capabilities?
Which platforms, approaches and tools?
We have been exploring a range of digital engagement tools designed to promote understanding of other people’s views and build consensus around complex issues.
We use both Pol.is and Consider.it to expand in-person engagement and as stand-alone platforms, depending on the project.
Pol.is
Pol.is is an interactive online platform developed by the Computational Democracy Project. It has been referred to as a ‘wiki-survey’ because the content is shaped by the participants themselves. The platform allows participants to both contribute (by voting) and respond by adding their own ideas based on prompts from statements already present in the survey.
Pol.is conversations begin from a set of short seed statements (up to 140-characters) that help to frame the discussion by offering a range of possible perspectives on the question at hand. Participants ‘vote’ on the statements by agreeing or disagreeing (or passing), and can add their own short statements for others to vote on. In doing so, they are contributing to an evolving conversation that seeks to find areas of common ground, while also identifying differences of opinion.
By combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies, Pol.is is well suited to opinion mapping and refining points of consensus. The visual representation that the software provides aims to ensure that participants can see all voices represented, and particularly, areas of agreement amongst otherwise disparate groups.
We have used Pol.is to understand public viewpoints on funding a sustainable transport system, perceptions of fairness in Aotearoa NZ, and progress and prospects for Auckland 15 years after establishment of the Super City, as well as smaller pilot projects.
Consider.it
The Consider.it software platform facilitates reasoned deliberation online. It allows people to vote on proposals, add new proposals for others to vote on, and add ‘pro’ and ‘con’ statements expressing the reasons behind their positions.
The tool provides an interactive, real-time visual summary of what the community thinks, and why. It can provide rich knowledge about group support for ideas in a way that helps the participants themselves to understand trade-offs and identify common ground. Opinions are aggregated in a way that quickly reveals the emergence of patterns of support for or opposition to various proposals, and uncovers reasons for disagreement where it persists.
Participants are encouraged to return to the Consider.it forum regularly over multiple weeks to review emerging patterns, vote on new statements and add their own perspectives, and proposals for all other participants to consider.
These features promote greater learning and ownership amongst participants.
We have used Consider.it primarily to support (primarily) in-person processes, but have also tested it to understand public viewpoints on the future of transport in Auckland, widening the conversation beyond our in-person deliberations.
